Grey Francolin: An Agile & Shy Bird
- kamalparu
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
Grey Francolin: An Agile & Shy Bird
A popular song from film ‘Mera Naam Joker (मेरा नाम जोकर ) ‘ by legendary showman Raj Kapoor -
‘ teetar ke do aage teetar, teetar ke do peeche teetar, aage teetar peeche teetar, bolo kitne teetar’ …..
‘ तीतर के दो आगे तीतर, तीतर के दो पीछे तीतर, आगे तीतर पीछे तीतर, बोलो कितने तीतर ‘…..,
might have been heard by all of us during childhood. But we hardly have seen the bird mentioned in the song. Recently we got opportunity to sight this bird – Grey Francolin or तीतर – during morning walk in Kanpur Cantt. A small group of Grey francolins was foraging along the edge of footpath. They are very agile and shy. As soon as they felt our presence, ran away very fast and swiftly, hide themselves inside nearby grass & bushes. However, we clicked some pics which are presented here.
Salient Features of Grey Francolin :
· A widespread resident bird mainly found in plains, lowlands and dry areas. ,
· It is mainly a terrestrial bird and a weak flier, can fly only for short distance. But their movement on ground are very fast and quick. As they are good runner, prefer to escape on foot rather taking to the air.
· Their physical appearance consists of plain brownish –yellow face, buff – white throat with thin black boarder resembling to necklace. Their upperparts and underparts are finely and densely barred.
· They are highly vocal. Their calls include a loud, clear repetition of ‘ka-tee-tar… tee-tar… ‘and whistling ‘kila-kila-kila’… Due to their calling sound, they might have derived their name as ‘Teetar’.
· They are mainly sighted in dry open grassland, shurbs, dry cultivation area and semi –desert.
· They feed mainly on insects, termites, seeds, grains, etc.
· Its scientific name is ‘Francolinus Pondicerianus’ and belongs to ‘Phasianidae’ family.
· Its Hindi name is ‘तीतर ‘.
· IUCN conservation status: Least Concern (LC).
Grey Francolin
# Now - a - days, sight of Grey Francolin is rare. Due to hunting, their number is dwindling gradually. We should make endeavour in conservation of such bird species - sighting of which imparts peace & tranquillity.
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